The present invention relates generally to a device for covering and protecting a pick-up box rear compartment and more particularly to a flexible pick-up box cover, which is adaptable to form around a variety of transportable objects, and which has a selectively variable volume.
The design of a pick-up box or truck bed allows a motor vehicle to transport a variety of materials within the rear pick-up box compartment. The size and accessibility of the pick-up box allows anything from dirt to large bulky objects to be carried within the pick-up box. Even though the pick-up box configuration provides an automobile with an adaptable utility transportation compartment, it does not afford much protection to articles being transported, nor is the pick-up box itself protected very well from wear associated with transporting, loading, and unloading cargo.
In order to properly protect cargo and the interior of the pick-up box, tarps, toppers, tonneau covers, and bed liners, are commonly used. Each of these provides varying degrees of protection to either or both the cargo and the interior of the pick-up box, but they each also have their disadvantages.
Tarps or other similar coverings are often used to cover large or odd-shaped cargo while in a pick-up box. They provide a large degree of versatility, but they do not completely protect the cargo from environmental elements, and they offer little protection to the inside of the pick-up box. They also must be tied down or otherwise specially secured whenever cargo is transported. Additionally, they typically degrade rapidly over time as they are subjected to wind, snow, rain, and other environmental conditions.
Rigid covers, such as toppers, are often used to protect medium to large-sized cargo. Compared with tarps, toppers can more completely cover many types of cargo, they are more durable, and they protect the inside of the pick-up box from environmental elements, but they are rigid and can not accommodate large or odd-sized cargo. Additionally, they do not protect the inside of the pick-up box from movements of the cargo during loading, unloading, or transport.
Removable covers, such as tonneau covers, are commonly used to protect smaller cargo. They have most of the same advantages and disadvantages as toppers, but also have the advantage of being easier to remove than toppers. Tonneau covers, however, are typically only able to protect small sized cargo; for medium, large, or odd-sized cargo, they must be removed.
Pick-up bed liners are commonly used to protect the inside of the pick-up box. However, they do not protect the cargo being transported from environmental elements.
Although there are a variety of pick-up box coverings that protect to some degree or another cargo and/or the internal compartment of a pick-up box, a need exists to have one which protects both the cargo and the pick-up box, is durable, and is adjustable to the needs of the user and the design of the object being transported.
In order to overcome the foregoing disadvantages associated with the prior art, the present invention provides a durable, yet flexible, pick-up box liner, which protects objects being transported within the pick-up box compartment and the interior of the pick-up box, and which has a selectively variable volume to accommodate various cargo sizes. The preferred embodiment of the present invention is comprised of an enclosable liner arranged to form a base portion, four sidewalls, and an upper portion, which collectively define an internal compartment. The base portion, sidewalls and upper portion are bendable, thereby allowing the liner to fold into a variety of geometric configurations. The geometric configurations provide an internal compartment for the object being transported to be located within. A means for selectively reducing or expanding the volume of the internal compartment is connected to the panels.
The pick-up box liner not only protects the cargo being transported, but protects the pick-up box as well. The bottom portion of the enclosable liner reflects the size and shape of the pick-up box and protects the internal surface of the pick-up box from being damaged during loading, unloading and transporting of cargo. The sidewalls of the enclosable liner also reflect the size and shape of the pick-up box sidewalls, additionally protecting the internal surfaces of the pick-up box sidewalls from being damaged during loading, unloading, and transporting of cargo.
In the expanded volume configuration of the preferred embodiment, the pick-up box liner has a tent-like configuration. This configuration may be disposed over the pick-up box compartment, and is preferably attached to the pick-up box by a plurality of fasteners. The tent-like portion includes the upper portion, and may comprise a fabric or plastic-like material. Because the liner is flexible in nature, it may be supported across the compartment by using structural hoops. This tent-like embodiment gives the pick-up box, compartment a dome-like appearance on top, and additionally provides a large internal compartment for transporting large sized cargo. In the reduced volume configuration of the preferred embodiment, the pick-up box liner has a tonneau cover-like configuration. This configuration may also be disposed over the pick-up box compartment and attached by a plurality of fasteners. The upper portion in this configuration is substantially flat, and provides a smaller internal compartment for transporting small-sized cargo.
In the preferred embodiment, the means for reducing or expanding the volume of the internal compartment comprises the first half of a zipper located along one side of the upper portion, which attaches to the second half of the zipper located substantially mid-way along the upper portion, parallel to the first zipper half. In order to reduce the volume of the truck-box liner, the zipper is zipped, and the area of the upper portion located between the two zipper halves is folded thereunder, being stored in the internal compartment.
In order to attach the liner to the pick-up box, the enclosable liner preferably includes a pair of longitudinal flaps. One flap is located on each side of the liner, and has a plurality of pockets formed therein. Each pocket is adapted to be received into a corresponding securement recess formed in the top surface of a pick-up box sidewall. After each pocket is inserted into a corresponding securement recess of a pick-up box sidewall, a fastener, preferably comprising a securement mechanism, is inserted into each pocket. Each securement mechanism is engaged to securely attach each flap to a pick-up box sidewall.
In the preferred embodiment, the securement mechanism includes a securement compression plug inserted into each pocket, which, when vertically compressed, expands laterally to retain the corresponding pocket walls against the corresponding securement pick-up box recess walls. In an alternate embodiment, the attachment mechanism includes a plurality of securement compression plugs attached to an attachment board.
In any configuration or embodiment, the pick-up box protective covering provides a device which can be used in correlation with a pick-up box (also referred to as a truck bed) to protect cargo being transported. The use of a flexible pick-up truck box cover and liner protects the bed surface while providing a xe2x80x9cpackaging cocoonxe2x80x9d for the protection of a variety of goods during transit.
Additionally, because the ability to transform an open air truck bed compartment into a rear hatch is becoming more and more popular (i.e. similar to a sport utility vehicle (SUV) or minivan), the present invention transforms the bed of a pick-up truck into a motor vehicle having similar functionality as the rear hatch found in an SUV, van, or minivan.